Jonathan Douglas Richardson listens to a judge's orders during a court appearance this morning on first-degree murder charges.

A 4-year-old girl, who Johnston County officials say was victim of one of the worst child abuse cases they have ever seen, has died.

Teghan Alyssa Skiba died around 6:30 p.m. Monday at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, where she had been in critical condition.

Jonathan Douglas Richardson, 21, was charged with first-degree murder in her death and remains in the Johnston County jail without bond. He had been in the jail since Friday, charged with felony child abuse with serious bodily injury, after taking Teghan to Johnston Memorial Hospital in Smithfield earlier that day.

The child had severe head trauma, was covered in cuts, bites and bruises, and she showed signs of being sexually abused, according to Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell.

The girl's mother, Helen Reyes, left her in Richardson's care on July 6 when she went to New Mexico for Army Reserves training.

Bizzell said that Reyes was at UNC Hospitals by her daughter's side Saturday after she returned from New Mexico. Investigators spoke to the child's father, who is in the Wake County jail on felony drug trafficking charges.

"You think about how bad you think it is, and it's that times 10," Bizzell said Monday night. "There's no excuse for it. It was really just a disgrace to the sanctity of human life for a human body to be tortured like this. It was just a senseless act of violence."

An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death, Bizzell said.

Bizzell said additional charges may be filed.

"The investigation is in no ways over," he said.

In a release about the child's death, Bizzell said that news of Teghan's injuries had touched people deeply.

"Over this past weekend, a community, law enforcement officers, doctors, nurses and medical staff came to love a little four year old girl, Teghan Skiba, who was a victim of child abuse. This tragedy struck a very sensitive nerve in all good and decent people," Bizzell said in the news release. "Little Teghan was a very energetic, vivacious and lovable child. This violent act against her has reminded all of us just how precious our children are."

Bizzell said the Wake County Department of Social Services has launched an investigation. Reyes lived in Raleigh before moving in with Richardson.

Richardson has a criminal record that includes a conviction for simple assault and injury to personal property. He was given six months' probation and ordered to pay restitution. A judge ruled in April that Richardson had satisfied his probation.

Richardson told hospital officials Friday that the girl had fallen out of a bed.

The three had been living in a barn behind the home of Richardson's grandparents, Wade and Helen Creech.

The barn where Richardson and the girl were staying had no bathroom, no running water and a single air mattress on the floor for sleeping, Bizzell said.

Staff writer David Bracken and news researcher Brooke Cain contributed to this report.

Teghan Skiba was admitted to the hospital with cuts, bite marks and signs of sexual assault last Friday.

Earlier last night, she passed away at the UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill.

Police say the torture happened on Richardson's grandparent’s property in Smithfield, where he lived with his girlfriend and Teghan's mother, Helen Reyes.

The young girl was in the care of Richardson while her mother was away for military training.

Now Reyes is being investigated because she left the child in Richardson's care, although there's no word if charges will be filed or not.

"We've been meeting with the district attorney and looking at the totality of those involved in this case, what charges are appropriate and if anyone else will be charged," said Steve Bizzell, Johnston County Sheriff.

Richardson was in court yesterday morning for the felony child abuse charges.

Sheriff: Child Was Abused, TorturedFour-year-old Teghan Skiba of Johnston County died after authorities say she was the victim of torture and sexual abuse. Her mother's boyfriend is charged with murder.

Posted: 5:20 AM Jul 20, 2010

A child lawmen say was abused has died, and the boyfriend of the little girl's mother is facing charges.

21-year-old Jonathan Richardson of Smithfield in Johnston County is charged with the murder and sexual assault of four-year-old Teghan Skiba. Lawmen say Teghan died Monday from "severe bodily injuries." Police say Teghan had bite marks, cuts, severe head trauma and appeared to have been tortured and sexually assaulted.

Authorities say Richardson and Teghan's mom, Helen Reyes, lived with the girl, on his grandparents' property in Smithfield in a barn without running water.

Reyes could face charges. Lawmen say she left her daughter with Richardson while off at military training.

"Whoever had a part in this needs to be charged, and we're looking at every avenue, because there is no sense at all in what we've witnessed," said Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell.

SMITHFIELD, N.C. - A 4-year-old girl died Monday after a man allegedly sexually abused and tortured her in Johnston County.

The Johnston County Sheriff's Office said Teghan Skiba died Monday at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill as a result of "severe bodily injuries" sustained July 16.

Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said Jonathan Richardson, 21, brought Teghan to the hospital Friday night claiming she had fallen out of bed. Personnel from Johnston Medical Center, however, contacted police after discovering Teghan had bite marks, cuts, severe head trauma and appeared to have been tortured and sexually assaulted. She was then transported the UNC Hospitals.

As a result, Richardson was arrested Friday on a felony child abuse charge.

"Over this past weekend, a community, law enforcement officers, doctors, nurses, and medical staff came to love a little four year old girl, Teghan Skiba, who was a victim of child abuse," Bizzell said.

Richardson now faces a first degree murder charge and is being held without bond in Johnston County Jail.

Bizzell said Richardson was dating the girl's mother, Helen Reyes, who left the girl in Richardson's care earlier this month when she left for military training. The girl and her mother recently moved in with Richardson into a barn on his grandparents' property in Smithfield. Bizzell said the barn had no running water.

He also said Reyes told authorities she was scared of Richardson.

"There's a lot that is unanswered," Bizzell said Monday. "The investigation is definitely ongoing with the possibility of additional charges and additional individuals being charged."

Bizzell said the Wake County Department of Social Services is also involved in the investigation because the girl and her mother had recently lived there with the girl's grandmother.

Bizzell said it's also possible Richardson could face additional charges in the case. He also added the grandparents apparently had no knowledge of what was happening on their property. Richardson's grandmother declined to comment on Saturday and asked that the family have privacy.

Teghan was described as "a very energetic, vivacious and lovable child."

Bizzell said, "This violent act against her has reminded all of us just how precious our children are."

This just breaks my heart. I don't know if NC has the death penalty, but if they do..... this is without a doubt the kind of people the DP was instituted for. Scum like Richardson just don't deserve to live. Period.

Snaz wrote:This just breaks my heart. I don't know if NC has the death penalty, but if they do..... this is without a doubt the kind of people the DP was instituted for. Scum like Richardson just don't deserve to live. Period.

JMO

I agree. I'm sick of this happening to our children. No punishment is too severe for Richardson.

I also wish these mothers would quit bringing their loser, abusive boyfriends into their children's lives. I don't understand why Teghan's mother left her child alone with somebody she was scared of.

JOHNSTON COUNTY, NC (WTVD) -- Search warrants released Tuesday shed new light on the death of a 4-year-old girl in Johnston County.

Teghan Alyssa Skiba died at UNC Hospitals Monday night.

Deputies say 21-year-old Jonathan Douglas Richardson took the girl to the Johnston Medical Center on Friday claiming she fell out of bed. But doctors called authorities when they discovered human bite marks, bruises, cuts, severe head trauma and evidence of extreme sexual abuse.

Richardson was supposed to be caring for the child while his girlfriend attended military training with the Army National Guard in New Mexico

According to search warrants, Richardson shared the same air mattress with the girl in an outbuilding behind Richardson's grandparent's house on the outskirts of Smithfield near Brogden. There was no running water and no bathroom.

Click here to read the search warrants (.pdf)

The search warrants state Richardson told detectives he "lost it" when the little girl urinated and defecated in their shared bed.

He said he whipped her with an electrical cord.

He also stated he was bipolar and 'little things set him off."

Detectives searched took dental impressions and DNA evidence from Richardson and searched his pickup truck, a room in his grandparent's house, and the outbuilding where he was staying with the child.

Among the items they collected were drug paraphernalia and a "green leafy substance" along with a shotgun, rifle, knives, clothing and multiple other items.

Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell told ABC11 Monday that the abuse likely happened over several days and called it one of the worst cases of abuse his investigators have ever seen.

"The reality is probably 10 times worse than anyone could possibly imagine," he said Monday.

The warrants state Skiba's mother Helen Reyes left for New Mexico July 6.

Bizzell said he feels the girl's mother has some responsibility for what happened because she knew the conditions she was leaving her child in.

Richardson is charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond in Johnston County Jail.

In the meantime, authorities say further investigation into Skiba's death is ongoing by the JCSO, Johnston County District Attorney's Office, and the N.C. Chief Medical Examiner's Office and more charges could be filed.

I agree, J4A... and I wish they WOULD give you 5 minutes alone with him..... actually, I wish they would give every loving father who so desires 5 minutes with him, to equal the amount of time he tortured this precious little girl.

Let's just see how he "loses it" with someone his own size instead of a four year old child!!

Did his grandparents know there was a four year old living in the barn, in the middle of the summer...no bathroom, no air conditioning.

So the mother was afraid of him or Teghan? I am truly surprised he took her to the hospital....

Bless her heart....where are the ones that are to protect these babies? Grown men beating innocent children to death, it's sadistic. I can't imagine how alone and scared Teghan was, no one to tell. No one to cry out to tell them she was in pain, no one to comfort her. It just breaks my heart into pieces.

I don't understand grandparents letting their grandson live in a barn, in NC, in the middle of summer with no bathroom and no air conditioning!!!!! The temps for the months of June and July have been averaging over 90 degrees.

Were they even aware he was living there, with a young lady and a 4 y/o baby? Did they take their meals with the grandparents? I know the grandparents said they did not know anything was going on in the barn during the days the mom was away. Did they even know the mom was away? This is too much to comprehend.

_________________"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven" -----Henry Ward Beecher

Helen Reyes, the Army Reserve soldier whose 4-year-old daughter died while Reyes was away at training in New Mexico, could have asked the Army for help with child care during her training or stayed home, Army Reserve officials said this week.

As a single mother, Pfc. Reyes should have been required to come up with what the military calls a "family care plan" outlining how her daughter would have been cared for during her two-week training trip to New Mexico.

Johnston County Sheriff's investigators say Reyes left her daughter, Teghan Skiba, living with her boyfriend of six months, Jonathan Douglas Richardson, 21, who has been charged with Teghan's murder.

Raleigh, N.C. — Social workers never received any reports of suspected abuse or neglect of a 4-year-old girl whom authorities say died this month after being tortured by her mother's boyfriend, according to a report released Wednesday.

Teghan Skiba died July 19 at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, three days after Jonathan Douglas Richardson took her to a Smithfield hospital, initially claiming she had fallen off a bed, authorities said.

Despite the fact that authorities say a mother knew her four-year-old daughter was abused before her death by the man she was living with, Helen Reyes is now free on bond.

Teghan Skiba died July 19 at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, three days after she had been taken to a Smithfield hospital. She had cuts, lacerations, bite marks, head trauma and sexual assault injuries, authorities said.

Teghan and Reyes had been living in a barn with Jonathan Richardson on 750 Old Sanders Road in the Brogden area behind the home of his grandparents, Wade and Helen Creech, for the past four weeks. The structure had no bathroom, no running water and a single air mattress on the floor for sleeping, according to Sheriff Steve Bizzell.

The Grand Jury handed down a five-count criminal indictment last Monday against Jonathan Douglas Richardson who had previously been charged with first-degree murder of Teghan Skiba.

Charges in the indictment include first-degree rape of the child who had celebrated her fourth birthday just 13 days prior to her death. Richardson, 21, of the Brogden community, was also charged with child abuse, murder, kidnapping and sex offense charges.

In addition to having intercourse with the child, the indictments allege Richardson used his hands and electrical cords as deadly weapons inflicting serious personal injury and also restrained and terrorized Teghan.

Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle said Thursday that she plans to seek the death penalty in two high-profile murder cases.

Jonathan Douglas Richardson, 21, of Smithfield will face the death penalty if he's convicted in the abuse and death of 4-year-old Teghan Skiba in July. He's charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse. According to search warrants, Teghan had severe head injuries and bruises, cuts and human bite marks all over her body when Richardson brought her to the hospital. She died several days later.

Smithfield, N.C. — A 4-year-old Smithfield girl who died in July suffered bleeding in her skull from blunt force head injuries, according to a report released by the North Carolina Medical Examiner on Wednesday.

Teghan Skiba died July 19 at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, three days after she had been taken to a Smithfield hospital. She had cuts, lacerations, bite marks, head trauma and sexual assault injuries, authorities said.

The medical examiner's report said the girl had suffered extensive abuse, including beatings.

Authorities charged Jonathan Douglas Richardson, 21, of 750 Old Sanders Road in Smithfield, with first-degree murder and child abuse in connection with her death.

Skiba's mother, Helen Reyes, 26, of 5255 Passenger Place in Raleigh, is charged with negligent child abuse in connection with her death.

The Smithfield man charged with torturing the 4-year-old daughter of his girlfriend begins to learn his fate Monday. Opening statements are scheduled in the murder trial of Jonathan Douglas Richardson.Today - 8:13 a.m.

Last edited by Ann - Tx on Mon Feb 24, 2014 10:47 am; edited 1 time in total

The state just gave a very powerful opening statement.This monster had this poor child Teagan locked in a shed for 10 days. This monster TORTURED Teagan to include shocking her with electrical wire's and biting her.I want to know where this baby's mother was for 10 freaking days while this was going on. Time for me to read back and get some answers.

One Wonders wrote:The state just gave a very powerful opening statement.This monster had this poor child Teagan locked in a shed for 10 days. This monster TORTURED Teagan to include shocking her with electrical wire's and biting her.I want to know where this baby's mother was for 10 freaking days while this was going on. Time for me to read back and get some answers.

Smithfield, N.C. — Opening statements and testimony began Monday in the capital murder trial of a Smithfield man accused of torturing the 4-year-old daughter of his girlfriend more than three years ago.

In July 2010, Jonathan Douglas Richardson, of 750 Old Sanders Road, took Teghan Skiba to a Smithfield hospital, claiming she had fallen off a bed.

Doctors discovered Teghan had bite marks, head trauma and evidence of sexual assault. They transferred her to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, where she died three days later.

Thank you for "live" streaming the opening statements of this trial today.

Would you please stream the entire trial "live" and archive? WRAL does an exceptional job of "live" streaming trials such as the Amanda & Grant Hayes murder trials, Jason Young murder trial, etc.

As an advocate who supports justice for victims of child abuse and in this case murder, I think it is very important that folks throughout the world to have an opportunity to watch this trial and support justice for the innocent, defenseless victim, Teghan Skiba.

This innocent, defenseless child died a brutal, horrific death. Awareness of child abuse could perhaps save the life of another child. Perhaps someone knows of a child being abused and does not want to report it to the proper authorities. Without a doubt, the Teghan Skiba case and now this trial will bring awareness to how fatal and brutal child abuse can be. No child deserves to be treated and abused like Teghan Skiba was.

WRAL, you are truly an asset to North Carolina. I visit your website often.

Thank you for your consideration and I do hope you will be able to "live" stream this trial. Many child advocates and folks supporting justice for little Teghan would sincerely appreciate it.

I will be following this trial closely via NC media. I do hope justice is served in the Jonathan Richardson trial. . . the Teghan Skiba torture and abuse murder case.

Prosecutors say that in those 10 days, Richardson tortured Teghan in a shed behind the Johnston County home of his grandparents, where the couple and Teghan had been living. Prosecutor Paul Jackson told jurors that when it was over, Teghan had been sexually assaulted, bitten more than 63 times and flayed with a split extension cord that left little bits of copper embedded in her body.

Richardson’s trial, Jackson said, is “about the 10 days that he inflicted grievous pain and suffering on this 4-year-old child through deliberate, repeated acts of sadistic abuse.”

The following is snipped from WRAL - Facebook. I did not include the poster's name asking the questions.

Per the WRAL comment on Facebook, it appears there may not be wall to wall coverage ("live") streaming of the trial.~~~~~~~

Snipped:

Will WRAL be streaming the Jonathan Richardson trial online? If so, where can I find it? Jonathan Richardson is being tried in Smithfield for the murder of Teghan Skiba, the 4 year old child of his girlfriend. 8 hours ago

WRAL TV Given the gruesome nature of the testimony in this case and other coverage commitments, we can't promise wall-to-wall, live video from the court room. We will stay on top of it and update you both online and on TV.Like · Reply · 7 hours ago

There are a great number of us who follow your coverage on Websleuths. We have followed every case you have streamed. Please reconsider, as we have been waiting a long time to hear testimony in this case. The supporters of Teghan Skiba. Like · 7 hours ago

Feb. 24, 2014, opening statemetns in the capital murder trial of Jonathan Douglas Richardson, a Smithfield man charged with torturing and killing the 4-year-old daughter of his girlfriend in July 2010.

Smithfield, N.C. — Johnston County prosecutors say a man on trial and facing a possible death sentence tormented, tortured and terrorized his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter for 10 days before the child slipped into a coma and died while her mother was out of town three years ago.